jjwalker

^^^ This, did you replace the fan clutch yet or not?

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, he did...with an efan.

jjwalker

Unless I just missed it, he hasn't installed the e-fan nor solidly diagnosed the problem.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i agree. a lot of looking at parts online, and a lot of 'it was fine a year ago' but not enough of checking the actual car today.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I think the fan is installed because he was talking about how the snorkel no longer fit.

jackhild59

iTrader: (7)

He's out researching alternator threads even as we type. Or maybe he is attached to a tow-truck due to a flat battery.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

-charging issue fixed
-overheating issue only half fixed.

the e fan is in. it works better then the clutch fan. temps are down most of the time. I have only driven the car to work 2 times. after start up, temp stays at just below 1/2 for around 5 minutes. then drops to 1/4 if traveling on level surfaces and small grades. large grades in any gear going one speed (50mph) seem to make the temp shoot up, starting to go past 1/2. when it levels out, it drops quickly to 1/4 again. Thats what I noticed so far but the fan is wired with ignition so always on, on the low speed. high speed has same issue though it seems. I have bought parts and it will be done thursday or this weekend. water pump, rad cap, need to pick up oem t stat. radiator fins look brand new (not one bent!) and no hot or cold spots. hoses look good and feel fine. I'm getting coolant circulating. so with these powers combined, I should hopefully fix something. I will be getting it pressure tested after and a full flush during all that. (its probably my stant t stat thats casuing all this. I drilled a hole in it but still).

btw, fan fit damn near perfect with minor trimming.

and the snorkel is kind of ok. stock bolt location but the hood hits it. I'll have to go cold air soon but for now its fine.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

simplify. NO the fan didn't fix it. A step in the right direction as its drivable again for the most part.

uh, derrrrrrhttps://www.rx7club.com/2nd-gen-arch...mostat-526318/
I are not smart.

Pardon my general stupidity rx7club, go about your business. the fool is done with his quest. At least I will be doing a ton of preventative maintenance.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

hey clokker, saw a post by you back in 2010. You said that NAPA has a thermostat with a jiggle valve that is suitable for us. Just wondering if the quality was better then stant and it indeed performed its job appropriately. I have a mazda oem unit coming from rotary performance, not ******* around but maybe next time if I need rreplacing I can try the NAPA if its good.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Yes, it's listed at NAPA for the FD and I'm still using it.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

so, finally got the waterpump installed. seems like a good thing but problem persists (E fan is band aiding as still have it wired to ignition, waiting on the relay now).

My old water pump did have a small amount of bearing play compared to the new one so $40 for piece of mind at the very least. thermostat comes in monday. genuine mazda. Rotary performance (aka rx7.com) apparently didn't bother to send it to ups until 5 days later and next day was 64 more washingtons. but oh well, it will be here and thats the problem. I got the new radiator cap on there too. its a stant cap (didn't realize when I ordered it) but it seems to hold pressure fine so for now I got a decent one. I'm holding onto my old one which is presumably fine just in case though.

the hard lesson: don't run stant thermostats even if you drill the 1/8" hole in it. I don't get why they don't work but mine just doesn't at outside temps above 70F. oh, and I have confirmed that my coolant seales are not toast. no symptoms at all.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

so yesterday I did the water pump and now my battery will not charge. with the fan connected or disconnected, it just won't charge.

Alternator is putting out close to 14 volts via multimeter, all connections are good but I re did them anyway. I took the alternator off and checked all the connections and they are fine. meter fuse is good. I didn't touch any electrical when doing water pump. just moved the alternator down a bit but everything in that area is good and nothing got punched when I moved it. Had bond test my battery, said it was good but needed to be charged and I said "Thats what the problem is. all fuses everywhere are good so I am stumped. must have a break in the connection somewhere I gather.

jjwalker

Meter what voltage you have at the battery when the car is running. That'll tell ya if it's a bad connection or bad battery.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

supposedly its 12.54 while running. yet I turned the car off and it was instantly dead? gauge in car read 6 volts when I shut it off and turned key to on, then tried to start and got 2 slow cranks and clicks (like dead battery). I still need to take the connections off and test the battery as it tested around 12. 42 when I tested it with the car off but still connected.

I'm wondering something. my water pump pulley had to be spaced out with washers so it would not hit the water pump. I used crush washers and the pulley should still be lined up ok, might be 1/16" or less off from where it should really be (its very close). I don't think that would affect this issue though as the belt looks good on it and its turning the alternator. as said, alt is putting out almost 14 volts while running.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Voltage at the battery should read within .5 volts of the alternator output.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

would my e fan being run from ignition all the time make a difference to that or no?

Usually my in car gauge reads just above 12 (which is probably where my battery would be. the .5 lower). but now the alt is at almost 14 so its like its a bad connection. I have quadruple checked the connection. I wonder if its a ground. I didn't touch too much when I did water pump but I used compressed air to clean out some leaves in my bay. maybe I dislodged something else. I have checked every connection I can see though.

jjwalker

You really shouldn't have been anywhere near the battery connections while doing a water pump.

Disconnect the battery from the terminals and do a continuity test from the positive battery lead to the B+ terminal on the alt. Also, do a continuity test from the negative battery lead to the engine.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

continuity right? not voltage? just checking. will do.

just disconnected and checked battery after replacing 9v battery in my digital multimeter (I think it was inaccurate as battery was low in multimeter). battery by itself just now is 12.22 which isn't good. thats after I drove 6 miles and parked it at home . I'll do continuity tomorrow before I through it on the charger. thanks for the help.

I was no where near the battery doing water pump. I did have to move the alternator down to remove the belt though but thats it. I've checked all the connections but it has to be more then coincidence.

its got 12v at battery. it should start the car but it acts as though the battery has sat for a long time. couple cranks and click. I had to take the main pulley off but I aligned the mark and reinstalled the exact way it was so that shouldn't have done anything. can I run a wire directly from B+ on alt to the positive on the battery to see if it charges that way? that would eliminate other things and mean its some where in that wiring from alt to batt.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

^nevermind, if I test continuity for positive on battery to b+, then I could do continuity from the positive connector to the b+ and that will tell me if its the wiring between alt and battery. duh. thanks all

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

continuity positive lead to b+: 0.005 (didn't know which setting to have my multimeter on for the decimal but it showed something and thats all I need)

negative lead to block (near the tps): 0.001-0.002

need to check my grounds? tested alternator at parts store by the manager who is competent and had him double check. its good, putting out 14.5 volts. its only putting out 13.96 when running on car though last I checked so what does that mean?

RXSpeed16

iTrader: (41)

Had a very similar problem recently. Even the dealership with their fancy battery tester said the battery was good. Even had a printout stating how many CCA's it was putting out, voltage, everything. It was all crap. A new battery fixed it.

My tests: Battery voltage while running was 13.5v. It would start normally if you just shut it down and restarted it. If left overnight, battery would still read 13.5v but did the same half-*** crank/quit. Re-checked battery voltage after cranking and it was down under 11. See if you find the same behavior.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

well it seems like its working now. I redid the connections at my battery (5th time) along with the allen screws that hold the positive wires in the terminal itself. I sanded the contacts on the alternator where the plug goes. I cleaned up my block ground. b+ looked fine but I sanded down that as well. the discrepency between what my alt puts out and what the battery has is bigger then .5 v though, with the fan disconnected. alt putting out 14.05 and batt was at 12.89. somethings going on somewhere , that was with acc's off. with the fan plugged in it fluctates between 12.61-12.78 it seems. but it starts on its own for now. 3 times anyway so thats all I care about. I'll get a new battery in the near future, this one has been drained a bit multiple times as well as being brought back to life from completely dead once.

FC_fan

iTrader: (2)

so, put a mazda genuine t stat in. everything says its for 86-88. part number on the box is 8AF1-15-171-9u. which is garbled version of the original number but you can compare it to mazdatrix parts numbers for the 86-88 and its right.

thing is my car is constant now but constant at 1/2 on the gauge. my fan is still on all the time too. Is it possible that I got an s5 t stat? would that make it run at 1/2 way? I am going to bleed the system again but now I think I found a problem. one of the bolts for the thermostat housing screws down but only tightens so far and then it loosens back up (threads are bad). this is because I drilled and retapped the water pump housing where they thread in and it wasn't good enough I guess. it is kinda tight and not leaking but I wonder if air is entering the system due to it not quite being tight enough. I re tapped it because both bolt heads broke off with like 30 lbs of torque when I went to put that stant t stat in.

I have a S4 t2 water pump housing laying around, if I encounter problems is that a bolt on replacement for my na block and na water pump?

welfare

you want to voltage drop test those cables. continuity/resistance testing is really only reliable for finding opens. anything else is pretty much a waste of time.

set the meter read volts. engine running, place the + lead on the alt terminal. place the - lead on the B+ post (not terminal, post). voltage drop should be no more than 200mv. if it is, place the - lead on the B+ terminal. if the VD lowered considerably, there is a connection problem between the terminal and post. if the VD stays virtually the same (over 200mv), the cable is NG. if VD is within that spec, measure VD across the - cable. place the + lead on the ground point at the block. place the - lead on the - battery post. same deal. nothing over 200mv is acceptable.

welfare

however, if everything is working fine now, you won't find a problem (obv), and don't need to bother testing really. unless you want to start "wiggle testing" while VD testing to see if you find anything. that and a visually inspecting is about all you can do at this point